25-25-50 LOVE - 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)

Homily for the  30^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)

Based on Mt 22:34-40 (Gospel), Ex 22:20-26 (First Reading) and 1 Th 1:5-10 (Second Reading)

From the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”

25-25-50 LOVE

“You must love the Lord your God… You must love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt 22:37,39)

The Gospel for this  Ascension Sunday (Cycle A) is taken from Mt 22:34-40 under the title: “Greatest commandment of all.” Parallel texts are:

1.       Mk 12:28-31 - One of the scribes who had listened to them debating and observed how well Jesus had answered them, now came up and put this question to him, “Which is the first of all the commandments (v. 28)?” Jesus replied, “The first is this: ‘Listen, O Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord (v. 29)! And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength (v. 30).’ The second is this: You must love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these (v. 31).’

2.       Lk 10:25-28 - There was a lawyer who, to disconcert him,  stood up and said to him, ‘Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ (v. 25) He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ (v. 26) He replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.’ (v. 27) ‘You have answered right’ said Jesus, ‘do this and life is yours.’ (v. 28).

3.       Jn 13:34-35 - I give you a new commandment:^t love one another; just as I have loved you, you also must love one another (v. 34). By this love you have for one another everyone will know that you are my disciples (v. 35). Footnote ^t  says “The reference to Christ’s departure, v. 33, (which leads up to the prophecy of Peter’s denial, vv. 36-38) makes this command, vv. 34-35, a solemn legacy from Christ. Though enunciated n the Mosaic Law, this precept of love is ‘new’ because sets the standard so high by telling his followers to love one another as he himself loved them, and because love is to be the distinguishing mark of the ‘new’ era which the death of Jesus inaugurates and proclaims to the world.”

Verses 34, 35 and 36 say: But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they got together and, to disconcert him, one of them put a question, “Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?”

Parallel text of verse 35 is 1 Jn 4:21 that says: So this is the commandment that he has given us, that anyone who loves God must also love his brother.

Verses 37 and 38 say: Jesus said, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, this is the greatest and the first commandment.

Parallel text of verse 37 are:

1.       Dt 6:5+ - You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength^c.  Footnote ^c says “This love, echo God’s love for his people, 4:37; 7:8; 10:15, embraces the fear of God, the duty of service and the observance of precepts, 6:13; 10:12-13; 11:1; cf. 30:2. Outside Dt there is no explicit command to love God but its equivalent is found in 2 K 23:25 and Ho 6:6. Though the command does not spear, the Psalms and the prophetic books, especially Hosea and Jeremiah, are full of the love if God. Jesus, quoting Dt 6:5, lays down as the greatest commandment of all, Mt 22:37p; with it goes fear, the fear of a son, not of a slave, 1 Jn 4:18.”

2.       1 Jn 2:7- My dear people, this is not a new commandment that I am writing to tell you, but an old commandment that you were given from the beginning, the original commandment which was the message brought to you..

Verse 39 says: The second resembles it: You must love your neighbor as yourself.

Parallel text of verse is that says:

1.       Lv 19:16 - You must not slander your own people, and you must not jeopardize your neighbor’s life.^e I am Yahweh. Footnote ^e says “By a baseless capital charge.”

2.       Jm 2:8 - Well, the right thing to do is to keep the supreme law of scripture: you must love your neighbor as yourself…

   

Verse 40 says: On these two commandments  hang the whole law and the prophets also.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Rm 13:8-10 - Avoid getting into debt, except the debt of mutual love. If you love your fellow men you have carried out your obligations^c (v. 8). All the commandments: You shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill, you shall not steal,^d you shall not covet, and so on, are summed up in this single command: you shall love your neighbor^e as yourself (v. 9). Love is the one thing that cannot hurt your neighbor; that is why it is the answer to very one of the commandments.^f Footnote ^c says “Lit. ‘fulfilled the law’-apparaently law in general, not only the Mosaic Law.”; Footnote ^d says “Add (Vulg.)’you shall not bear false witness’.”; Footnote ^e says “In Lv the ‘neighbor’ was a fellow countryman, here it is any member of the human family which is made one in Christ, Ga. 3:28; Mt 25:40.”; Footnote ^f says “Lit. ‘that is why love is the law in all its fullness’.”; Footnote ^g says “The thought is a fundamental one in Paul’s moral teaching. The ‘time’ (kairos) is apparently the eschatological era, called in the bible the ‘latter days’; introduced by Christ’s death and resurrection and coextensive with the age of the church on earth, the age of salvation, 2 Co 6:2. It is opposed to the era that preceded it by a difference not so much of time as of nature. The Christian, henceforward a ‘child of the day’, emancipated from the wicker world, Ga 1:4, and from the empire of darkness, belongs to the kingdom of God and of his Son, Col. 1:13; he is already a citizen of heaven, Phil. 3:20. This entirely new status dominates the whole moral outlook, cf. 6:3f.”

2.       Ga 5:14 - since the whole Law is summarized in a single command: Love your neighbor as yourself.

The First Reading is taken from  Ex 22:20-26.

Verse 20 says: You must not molest the stranger or oppress him, for you lived as strangers in the land of Egypt.

Parallel text of verse is that says:

1.       Ex 12:48 - Should a stranger be staying with youⁿ and wish to celebrate the Passover  in honor of Yahweh, all the males of his household must be circumcised: he may then be admitted to the celebration, for he becomes as it were a native-born. But no circumcised person may take part. Footnote ⁿ says “Like the Athenian metechon and the Roman incola, the foreigner who settles in Israel (the ger) has his own charter. The patriarchs themselves had been resident aleines in Canaan, Gn 23:4, as had the Israelites in Egypt, Gn 15:13; Ex 2:22. After the conquest of the Holy Land the roles were reversed: the Israelites became citizens and played the host to resident foreigners, Dt 10:19. These last were subject to the Laws, Lv 17:15; 24:16-22, and bound to the observance of the Sabbath, Ex 20:10; Dt 5:14. They were allowed to make offerings to Yahweh, Nb 15:15-16; they were also permitted to celebrate Passover, Nb 9:14, provided they accept circumcision, Ex 12:48. This laid the foundations of the proselytes’ charter of the Greek period, already foreshadowed in Is 14:1. These ‘strangers’ were the ‘economically unstable’ protected by the law, Lv. 23:22; 25:35; Dt 24 passim; 26:12. This last text and Dt 12:12 compare them to the Levites who have no possession I Israel; in Jg 17:7 the Bethlehem Levite is called ‘a stranger resident’ I Judah; cf. Jg 19:1.”

2.       Ex 23:9 - You must not oppress the stranger; you know how a stranger feels, for you lived as strangers in the land of Egypt.

3.       Lv 19:33 - Is a stranger lives with you in your land, do not molest him.

Verses 21. 22 and 23 say: You must not be harsh with the widow, or with the orphan; if you are harsh with them, they will surely cry out to me, and be sure I shall hear their cry; my anger will flare, and I will kill you with the sword, your own wives will be widows, your own children orphans.

Parallel texts of verse 21 are:

1.       Dt 10:18 - It is he who sees justice done for the orphan and the widow, who loves stranger and gives him food and clothing.

2.       Dt 24:17 - You must not pervert justice in dealing with a stranger or an orphan, nor take a widow’s garment in pledge.

3.       Dt 27:19 - A curse on him who tampers with the rights of the stranger, the orphan and the widow.” And all the people shall say: Amen.

4.       Ps 146:9 - Yahweh protects the stranger, he keeps the orphan and widow.

5.       Is 1:17 - Learn to do good, search for justice, help the oppressed be just to the orphan, plead for the widow.

6.       Ezk 22:7…where people despise their fathers and mothers; where they ill-treat the settler; where they oppress the widow and the orphan…

Verse 24 says: If you lend money to any of my people, to any poor man among you, you must not play the usurer with him: you must not demand interest from him.

Parallel text of verse is that says:

1.       Ps 109:9 - May his children be orphaned and his wife widowed.

2.       Lv 25:35-37 - If your brother who is living with you falls on evil days and is unable to support himself with you, you must support him as you would a stranger or a guest, and he must continue to live with you (v. 35). Do not make him work for you, do not take interest from him; fear your God, and let your brother live with you (v. 36). You are not to lend him money at interest, or give him food to make a profit out of it (v. 37).

3.       Dt 23:20-21 - You must not lend on interest to your brother, whether the loan be of money or good or anything else that may earn interest (v. 20). You may demand interest on a loan to a foreigner, but you must not demand interest from your brother; so that Yahweh your God may bless you in all your giving in the land you are to enter and make your own (v. 21).

4.       Pr 28:8 - He who increases his wealth by usury and interest amasses it for someone else who will bestow it on the poor.^c  Footnote   ^c says  “Ill-gotten gains give no lasting profit and in the end revert to the poor.”

Verses 25 and 26 say: If you take another’s cloak as a pledge, you must give it back to him before sunset.

It is all the covering he has; it is the cloak he wraps his body in; what else would he sleep in? If he cries to me, I will listen, for I am full of pity.

Parallel texts of verse 25 are:

1.       Dt 24:10-13,17 - If you are making your fellow a loan on pledge, you are not to go into his house and seize the pledge, whatever it maybe (v. 10). You must stay outside, and the man to whom you are making the loan shall bring the pledge out to you (v. 11). And if the man is poor, you are not to go to bed with his pledge in your possession (v. 12);^a you must return it to him at sunset so that he can sleep on his cloak and bless you; and it will be a good action on your part in the sight of Yahweh  your God (v. 13). You must not pervert justice in dealing with a stranger or an orphan, nor take a widow’s garment in pledge (v. 17). Footnote ^a says “Lit. ‘you are not to go to sleep in his pledge’ because originally the ‘pledge’ was a mantle, Ex. 22:25f.”

2.       Jb 22:6 - You have exacted needless pledges from your brothers, and men go naked now through your despoiling…

3.       Jb 24:9 - Fatherless children are robbed of their lands, and poor men have their cloaks seized as security.^f  Footnote ^f says “‘lands’ (lit. ‘field’) corr.; ‘breast’ Hebr. ‘cloaks’ corr.”

4.       Mi 2:10  - ‘Get up! Be off! There is no resting here.’ For a worthless thing, you exact an extortionate pledge.^k Footnote ^k says “‘a worthless thing (a nothing)’ corr. Of Greek; ‘you (singular) destroy and grief’ Hebr.”

   

The Second Reading is taken from 1 Th 1:5-10.

Verse 5 says: because we brought the Good News^b to you, it came to you not only as words, but as power and as the Holy Spirit and as utter conviction. And you observed the sort of life we lived when we were with you, which was for your instruction… Footnote  ^b says “Var. ‘the Good News of God’, or ‘of our God’.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Ac 20:18 - When they arrived he addressed these words to them:^l ‘You know what my way of life has ever since the first day I set foot among you in Asia…Footnote ^l says “The third great discourse of Paul in Ac. The first, ch. 13, exemplified his preaching to the Jews; the second, ch. 17, his preaching to the pagans; the third, 20:18-35, is as it were the last testament of the departing pastor. Many of the details of this third discourse are found in his letters; its tone is that of the Pastoral Letters. After referring to his mission in Asia, vv.18-21, he speaks of this as a final parting and seems to him at his death, vv. 22-27. Apostle Paul’s last advice to the elders of Ephesus (and through them to all the pastors in very church) is vigilance, vv. 28-32, selflessness, charity, vv. 33-35. In all of this Paul appeals to his own example: the discourse therefore draws a faithful portrait of the apostle himself.

2.       1 Co 2:4 - and in my speeches and sermons that I gave, there were none of the arguments that belong to philosophy; only a demonstration of the power of the Spirit.

3.       2 Co 12:12 - You have seen done among you all the things that mark the true apostle, unfailingly produced: the signs, the marvels, the miracles.

4.       Ac 1:8 - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you,ⁱ and then you will be my witnesses^j not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judea and Samaria, and indeed to the ends of the earth’.^k Footnote   ⁱ says “The Holy Spirit is a favorite theme of Luke (Lk 4:1+); he talks mostly about the Holy Spirit as a Power, Lk 1:35; 24:49;Ac 1:8;10:38; Rm 15:13,19; 1 Co 2:4,5; 1 Th 1:5; Heb 2:4, sent  from God by Christ, Ac 2:38, to broadcast the Good News. 1. The Spirit gives the charismata, 1 Co 12:4f, that guarantee the message; the gift of tongues, Ac 2:4+, of miracles, 10:38, of prophecy, 11:27+; 20:23; 21:11, of wisdom, 6:3,5,10:2, the Spirit fives strength to proclaim Jesus as Messiah in spite of persecution 4:8,31; 5:32; 6:10;cf. Ph 1;19 and to bear witness to him, Mt. 10;20p; Jn 15:26; Ac 1:8; 2 Tm 1:7f,cf. following note; 3. The Spirit guides the Church in her major decisions: the  admission of pagans, Ac 8:29,40; 10:19,44-47; 11;12-16; 15:8, without obligation to observe the  Law, 15:28; Paul’s mission to the pagan worlds, 13:2f; 16:6-7; 19:1 (Western Text) cf. Mt. 3:16+,Ac also mentions the Spirit  as received in baptism and forgiving sins, 2:38, cf. Rm 5:5+.”; Footnote ^j says “The primary functions of the apostles is to bear witness: not only to Christ’s resurrection, Lk. 24:48, Ac 2:32, 3:15, 4:33, 3:32, 24:48,13;31, 22:15, but also to the whole of is public life, Lk 1:21, Jn 15:27, Ac. 1:22, 10:39f.”; and Footnote ^k says “nothing can limit the apostolic mission.”

Verse 6 says: and you were led to become imitators of us, and of the Lord; and it was with joy from the holy Spirit that you tock to the gospel, in spite of the great opposition all round you.

Parallel text of verse is that says:

1.       Ac 17:1-9 - Passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they eventually reached Thessalonika, where there was a Jewish synagogue (v. 1). Paul as usual introduced himself and for three consecutive Sabbaths developed the arguments from scripture for them (v. 2), explaining and proving how it was ordained that the Christ should suffer and rise from the dead. ‘And the Christ’ he said ‘is this Jesus whom I am proclaiming top you (v. 3).’ Some of them^a where convinced and joined Paul and Silas, and so did a great many God-fearing people and Greeks, ^b as well as a number of rich women (v. 4). The Jews, full of resentment, enlisted the help of a gang from the market place, and stirred up a crowd, and soon had the whole city in an uproar. They made for Jason’s house,^c hoping to find theme there and drag them off to the People’s Assembly (v. 5); however, they only found Jason and some of the brothers, and these they dragged before the city council, shouting ‘The people who have been turning the whole world upside down have come here now (v. 6); they had been staying at Jason’s. They  had broken everyone of Caesar’s edicts by claiming that there is another emperor,^d Jesus (v. 7).” Footnote ^a says “Aristarchus, one of Paul’s most faithful companion, cf 20:4; Col 4:10, was probably one of them.”; Footnote ^b says “Var. ‘Greek worshippers of God.’ The reading here preferred distinguishes ‘those who worship God,’ 10:2+, from ‘Greeks not previously influenced by Jewish proselytism. Most of the conversions in Thessalonica were made from paganism, cf. 1 Th 1:9-10, etc.”; Footnote  ^c says “Possibly Jason of Rm 16:21.”;  and Footnote ^d says “Actually the Christians deliberately avoided calling Jesus by the emperor’s title basileus (‘king’); they preferred ‘Christ’ (Messiah) and ‘Lord’.”

2.       2 Th 3:7 - You know how you are supposed to imitate us;^b now we were not idle when we were with you. Footnote ^b says “By imitating Paul , 1 Co 4:16; Ga 4:12; Ph 3:17, Christians will be imitating Christ, 1 Th 1:6; Ph 2:5; cf Mt 16:24; 1 P 2:21; 1 Jn 2:6; who is the one that Paul is imitating, 1 Co 11:1. Christians must also imitate God, Ep 5:1 (cf. Mt 5:48), and they must imitate each other, 1 Th 1:7; 2:14; Heb 6:12. Behind this community of life is the idea of a model of doctrine, Rm 6:17, that has been received by tradition, v. 6: 1 Co 11:2+; 1 Th 2:13++. The leaders who transmit the doctrine must themselves  be ‘models’ v. 9; Ph 3:17; 1 Tm 1:16; 4:12; Tt 2:7;  1 P 5:3; whose faith and life are to be imitated, Heb 13:7.”

3.       1 Th 3:3…and prevent any of you from being unsettled by the present troubles. As you know, these are bound to come our way…

4.       Rm 14:17…because the kingdom of God does not mean eating or drinking this or that, it means righteousness and peace and joy brought by the Holy Spirit.

5.       Ga 5:22- What the Spirit brings is very different: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, truthfulness…

Verse 7 says: This has made you a great example to all believers in Macedonia and Achaia

Parallel text is 2 Th 1:4 that says: And among the churches of God we can take pride in you for your constancy and faith under all the persecutions and troubles you have to bear.

Verse 8 says: since it was from you that the word of the Lord started to spread – and not only throughout Macedonia and Achaia, for the news of your faith in God has spread everywhere. We do not need to tell people about it:

Parallel text is Rm 1:8 that says: First, I thank God through Jesus Christ for all of you and for the way in which your faith is spoken of all over the world.

Verse 9 says: other people tell us how we started the work among you, how you broke with idolatry when you were converted to God and became servants of the real, living God;

Parallel texts are:

1.       Ac 3:19 - Now you must repent and turn to God,^l so that your sins may be wiped out. Footnote  ^l  says “By ‘repentance’ man ‘comes back’ to God, cf. Mt 3:2+. The pagans must return to God by forsaking idols; see 1 Th 1:9; Ga 4:9; 1 Co 10:7,14:19;26:18,20; the Jews must turn to the Lord by acknowledging Jesus as Lord: cf. 2 Co 3:16; Ac 9:35. The expression of Lk 1:16; Ac 11:21; cf. 1 P 2:25 is somewhat different. Cf. also Is 6:10, quoted in Ac 28:27; Mt 13:15; Mk 4:12; Cf. Jn 12:40.”

2.       Ga 4:8 - Once you were ignorant of God, and enslaved to ‘gods’ who are not really gods at all…

Verse 10 says: and how you are now awaiting for Jesus, his Son, whom he raised from the dead, to come from heaven to save us from the retribution which is coming. ^c Footnote  ^c says “Var. ‘called you’.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       1 Th 2:19-20 - You are; and you will be the crown of which we shall be the proudest in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes (v. 19). You are our glory and our joy (v. 20).

2.       1 Th 4:16-17 - At the trumpet of Godⁱ the voice of an archangel will call out the command and the Lord himself will come down from heaven,^j and those who have died with Christ will be the firstto rise (v. 16). And those of us who are still ^k alive, will be taken up in the clouds with them to meet the Lord in the air. So we shall stay be with the Lord forever (v. 17).^l Footnote ⁱ says “‘us’; Paul includes himself among those who will be present at the parousia; more by aspiration, however, than by conviction, cf. 5:1+.”; Footnote ^j says “the trumpet, voice and clouds were traditional signs that accompanied manifestations of God, cf. Ex 13:32+; 19:16+ and they were adopted as conventional elements of apocalyptic literature, cf. Mt 24:30f+; 2 Th 1:8+.”; Footnote ^k says “Om. ‘(we) who are still alive’.”; Footnote ^l says “Of all the details given here: that the dead will answer the summons by returning to life that they and the living will be taken to meet the Lord, and that they will accompany him to the judgment with which the eternal kingdom begins, the essential one is the last: eternal life with Christ, cf. 5:10; 2 Th 2:1. That is to be the ‘salvation, the glory, the kingdom’ that Jesus shares among his chosen followers.”

3.       1 Th 5:9 - God never meant us to experience the Retribution, but to win salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ…

4.       Mt 3:7+ - But when he saw a number of Pharisees^e and Sadducees^f coming for baptism he said to them, ‘Brood of vipers, who warned you to fly from the retribution that is coming?^g Footnote ^e says “A Jewish sect, rigid observers of the Law; undue attachment to the oral tradition of their rabbis led, however, to the extravagant and artificial casuistry.”; Footnote ^f says “In opposition to the outlook of the Pharisees these rejected all tradition not contained in the written Law. They came for the most part from the great priestly families. They were less devout than the Pharisees and more politically minded.”; and Footnote ^g says “The retribution of the day of Yahweh (Am 5:18+), which was to inaugurate the messianic era.”

5.       Rm 2:5 - Your stubborn refusal to repent is only adding to the anger God will have towards you on that day of anger when his just judgment will be made known.

6.       Rm 5:9 - Having died to make us righteous,^g is it likely that he would now fail to save us from God’s anger? Footnote   ^g says Lit. ‘Being justified in his blood’.

RENDER TO CAESAR - 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time(Cycle A)

Homily for the 29^th Sunday in Ordinary Time(Cycle A)

Based on Mt 22:15-21 (Gospel), Is 45:1,4-6(First Reading) and 1 Tes 1:1-5(Second Reading)

From the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”

RENDER TO CAESAR

“Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God” (Mt 22:21)

The Gospel for this 29^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A) is taken from Mt 22:15-21 under the title: “Tribute to Caesar.” Parallel texts are:

1.       Mk 12:13-17 - Next they sent to him some Pharisees and some Herodians to catch him out in what he said (v. 13). These came and said to him, ‘Master, we know you are an honest man, that you are not afraid of anyone, because a man’s rank means nothing to you, and that you teach the way of God in all honesty. Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay, yes or no?’ (v. 14). Seeing through their hypocrisy he said to them, ‘Why do you set this trap for me? Hand me a denarius and let me see it (v. 15).’ They handed them one and he said, ‘Whose head is this? Whose name?’ ‘Ceasar’s’ they told him (v. 16). Jesus said to them, ‘Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar-and to God what belongs to God’. This reply took them completely by surprise (v. 17).

2.       Lk 20:20-26 - So they waited their opportunity and sent agents as men devoted to the Law, and to fasten on something he might say and so enable them to hand him over to the jurisdiction and authority of the government (v. 20). They put to him this question, “Master, we know that you say and teach what is right, you favor no one, but teach the way of God in all honesty (v.21). Is it permissible for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”(v. 22). But he aware of their cunning and said (v. 23), “Show me a denarius. Whose head and name are on it?” Ceasar’s’ they said.” ‘Well then he said to them, give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar- and to God what belongs to God (v.25)”. As a result, they were unable to find fault with anything he had to say in public, his answer took them by surprise and they were silenced (v.26).

Verse15 says: Then the Pharisees went away to work out between them how to trap him in what he said.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Jr 18:18 - ‘Come on,’ they said ‘let us concoct a plot against Jeremiah; the priest will not run short of instruction without him, nor the sage of advice, nor the prophet of the word.^g Come on, let us hit at him with his own tongue; let us listen carefully to every word he says.’^h Footnote ^g says“The work of these three classes of spiritual leaders will still go on, none of the worse for the disappearance of the trouble-maker.”; and Footnote ^h says “‘with his own tongue’, Syr.; ‘with the tongue’ Hebr. ‘let us’ Greek; ‘do not let us’ Hebr.”

2.       Lk 11:54…setting traps to catch him out in something he might say.

Verses 16 and 17 say: And they sent their disciples to him, together with the Herodians,^c to say, ‘Master, we know that you are an honest man and teach the way of God in an honest way, and that you are not afraid of anyone, because a man’s rank means nothing to you. Tell us your opinion, then. Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not?’ Footnote  ^c says “Supporters of the Herodian dynasty, Mk 3:6+, the most suitable people to report to the Roman authorities what they hoped to induce Jesus to say against Caesar.”

Parallel text of verse 16 is Rm 13:1-7that says: You must obey all governing authorities. Since all government comes from God, the civil authorities were appointed by God (v. 1), and so anyone who resists authority is rebelling against God’s decision, and such an act is bound to be punished (v. 2). Good behavior is not afraid of magistrates; only criminals have anything to fear. If you want to live without being afraid of authority, you must live honestly and authority may even honor you (v. 3). The state is there to serve God for your benefit. If you break the law, however, you may well have fear: the bearing of the sword has its significance. The authorities are there to serve God: they carry out God’s revenge by punishing wrongdoers (v. 4). You must obey, therefore, not only because you are afraid of being punished,^b but also for conscience’ sake (v. 5). This is also the reason why you must pay taxes, since all government officials are God’s officers. They serve God by collecting taxes (v. 6).  Pay every government official what he has a right to ask – whether it be direct tax or indirect, fear or honor (v. 7).Footnote ^a says “Paul here enunciates the principle that all authority, supposing it lawful and for the common good, derives from God. Hence the Christian religion, like its morality, 12:1, enters into civil life also, 13:1-7. Paul does not contradict this even after the first persecution.”; and Footnote ^b says “Lit. ‘not only on account of anger’.”

Verses 18, 19 , and 20 say: But Jesus was aware of their malice and replied, ‘You hypocrites! Why do you set this trap for me?Let me see the money you pay the tax with’ They handed him a denarius. And he said, ‘Whose head is this? Whose name?’

Parallel text of verse 18 isMt 6:2 that says:So when you give alms, do not have it trumpeted before you; this is what the hypocrites do in synagogues and in the streets to win men’s admiration. I tell you solemnly, they have their reward.

Verse 21 says: Caesar’s’ they replied. He then said to them, ‘Very well, give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar-and to God what belongs to God’.^d

Footnote d says “In practice they acknowledge the authority and accept the benefits of Roman government of which this coin is a symbol. Hence it is permissible, indeed it is a duty, for them to pay that government the tribute of their obedience and of their property so long as this does not encroach on what they owe to the overriding authority of God.”

Parallel text is Rm 13:7that says: Pay every government official what he has a right to ask – whether it be direct tax or indirect, fear or honor.

The First Reading is taken from  Is 45:1,4-6 under the title: “Oracle in favor of Cyrus^a.” Footnote  ^a says: “Cyrus, the future liberator of the people of Judah exiled in Babylon, plays a prominent part in the Book of Consolation. Yahweh establishes him, not to punish (like a Sennacherib or Nebuchadnezzar), but to set free. An ancient Jewish tradition applied this passage to the call of Abraham. St Jerome (who in v. 2 translates ‘who has aroused the Just One from the East) applied it to the Messiah, who would once for all bring deliverance. Cyrus who is later called ‘the anointed of Yahweh’, 45:1+, is in any case a foreshadowing of the Messiah.”

Parallel text is Is 41:1-5:  The calling of Cyrus^a. Islands, keep silence before me, let the people renew their strength. Let them come forward and speak, let us appear together for judgment (v. 1). ‘Who roused from the east him that victory hails at every step?^b Who presents him with nations, subdues kings to him? ‘His sword makes dust of them and his bow scatters them like straw^c (v. 2). He pursues them and advances unhindered, his feet scarcely touching the road(v. 3)^d ‘Who is the author of this deed if not he who callse the generations from the beginning? I, Yahweh, who am the first and shall be with the last (v. 4).’^f The island see him and take fright, the limits of the earth tremble: they approach, they are here (v. 5). Footnote ^a says “This oracle resumes the theme of the call of Cyrus, cf. 41:1-5. It goes further, however, calling Cyrus ‘the anointed of Yahweh’, a title originally reserved to te king of Israel, 1 S 9:26+, and later becoming a messianic title (‘anointed’ is the English equivalent of mashiah, ‘Messiah’, in the Greek christos). Cyrus is ‘summoned by name’, vv. 3 and 4, by Yahweh who is unknown to him, vv. 4 and 5, with the same call, a creative force, received by the prophets and kings.”; Footnote ^b says “The Hebrew word here rendered ‘victory’ (as in other passages of the Book of Consolation) is usually translated ‘righteousness’, ‘integrity’, ‘justice.’ In the present context it suggests a victory associated with the restoration of the world order willed by God. DSIa and versions have ‘Who has aroused victory (Vulg.; the Just one) from the East and has hailed it…’; Footnote ^c says “‘makes dust of them’, ‘scatters them’ corr.; Footnote ^d says “Image of the speed with which Cyrus sweeps to victory.”; Footnote ^e says “By his creative word, cf. Gn 1.”; and Footnote ^f says “i.e. Yahweh is eternal.”

Verse 1 says: This says Yahweh to his anointed, to Cyrus, whom he has taken by his right hand to subdue nations before him and strip the loins of kings,^b to force gateways before him that their gates be closed no more: Footnote  ^b  says “They are rendered powerless: the weapons fall from their belts.”

Parallel text is Ezr 1:2 that says: Thus speaks Cyrus king of Persia, “Yahweh, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth; he has ordered me to build him a Temple in Jerusalem, in Judah.^c Footnote  ^c says “The Persian kings were as a whole extremely sympathetic towards the religions of the subjected peoples: they reinstated and actively supported them while keeping a measure of control. Their attitude towards the Jewish religion was no exception. It is possible that Judaism further benefited because of the Persians’ devotion to the ‘gods of heaven’. Yahweh, who in the official documents is always referred to as ‘the God of heaven’ may have been thought of as the supreme god acknowledged by the Persian kings.”

Verse 4 says: It is for the sake of my servant Jacob, of Israel my chosen one, that I have called you by your name, conferring a title though you do not know me.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Is 41:8 - You, Israel, my servant,ⁱ Jacob whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham my friend.  Footnote ⁱ says “The second part of Is frequently represents the covenant by the image of the ‘servant’ whom God has chosen and set aside (from the surrounding peoples of the Diaspora, v. 9) to be his witness before all nations, 43:10. This ‘servant’, Israel, has proved unfaithful, 42:19, but Yahweh will forgive and save, 44:1f; 45:8; 48:20. In the ‘songs of the servant’ the term has a different significance, cf. 42:1+.”

2.       Ps 105:6 - Stock of Abraham his servant, sons of Jacob his chosen one!^b Footnote ^b says “‘his chosen one’ two MSS; ‘his chosen ones’ Text. Rec.”

3.       Ps 68:31 - Ambassadors^u will come from Egypt, Ethiopia will stretch out her hands to God. Footnote  ^u says “Lit ‘great men’ corr.; ‘bronze (?)’ Hebr. ‘stretch out’ corr.”

Verse 5 says: I am Yahweh, unrivalled; there is no other God besides me. Though you do not know me, I arm you.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Is 44:6 - Thus^e says Israel’s king, and his redeemer, Yahweh Sabaoth: I am the first, I am the last; there is no other God beside me. Footnote ^e says “Hebr. Inserts ‘Yahweh’, absent from Greek.”

2.       2 S 7:22 - In this is your greatness, Lord Yahweh; there is none like you, no God but you alone, as our own ears have heard.

3.       1 S 5:3 - Next morning the people of Ashdod went to the Temple of Dagon^d and there lay Dagon up and put him back in his place. Footnote  ^d says “‘went to the temple of Dagon’ Greek.”

Verse 6 says: that  men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that, apart from me, all is nothing.

Parallel text is Dt 32:21 that says: They have aroused me to jealousy with what is no god, they have angered me with their beings of nothing; I then, will rouse them to jealousy with what is no people, I will anger them with an empty-headed nation.^h Footnote ^h says  “Not that God’s election passes from Israel, but that he lavishes his favor on a people not his own and lacking the wisdom of the Law.”

The Second Reading is taken from1 Tes 1:1-5.

Verse 1 says: From Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the Church in Thessalonika which is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: wishing you grace and peace.^a Footnote ^a  says “Add ‘from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ’, cf. 2 Th 1:2.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Rm 1:1 - From Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus who has been called to be an apostle,^b and especially chosen to preach the Good News that God…Footnote ^b says “A Jewish title that means ‘envoy’, cf. Jn. 13:16; 2 Co. 8:23; Ph. 2:25, sometimes used in the NT for the Twelve chosen by Christ, Mt. 10:2; Ac. 1:26; 2:37, etc.: 1 Co. 15:7; Rv. 21:14; to be his witnesses, Ac. 1:8+, sometimes in the wider sense for those sent to preach the gospel, Rm. 16:7; 1 Co. 12:28; Ep. 2:20; 3:5; 4:11. Though Paul was not a member of the Twelve, the fact that he had been appointed as missionary to the  gentiles by God, Ac. 26:17; Rm. 11:13; 1 Co. 9:2; Ga. 2:8; 1 Tim. 2:7, constitutes him as apostle of Christ, Rm. 1:1; 1 Co. 1:1, etc., equal to the Twelve, Ac. 10:41, because like them he had seen the risen Christ, 1 Co. 9:1, and been sent by him, Rm. 1:5; Ga. 1:16, to be his witness, Ac. 26:16. In spite of being ‘the least of the apostles’, 1 Co. 15:9, he is their equal, 1 Co. 9:5; Ga 2:6-9, because he did not learn the Good News he preaches from them, Ga. 1:1,17,19.”

2.       2 Th 1:1-4 - From Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the Church in Thessalonika which is in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (v. 1); wishing you grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (v. 2). We feel we must be continually thanking God for you, brothers; quite rightly, because your faith is growing so wonderfully and the love that you have for one another never stops increasing (v. 3). And among the churches of God we can take pride in you for your constancy and faith under all the persecutions and troubles you have to bear (v. 4).

3.       Ac 15:22 - Then the apostles and elders decided to choose delegates to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.  The whole church concurred with this. They  chose  Judas, known as Barsabbas,^w and Silas,^x  both leading men in the brotherhood. Footnote ^w says “Not mentioned either elsewhere, cf. 1:23.”; and Footnote ^x says “Silas, missionary companion of Paul, 15:40-18:5, is the same as the Silvanus mentioned in 1 Th 1:1; 2 Th 1:1; 2 Co 1:19; 1 P 5:12.”

4.       Ac 16:1 - From there he went to Derbe, and then to Lystra. Here there was a disciple called Timothy,^a whose mother was a Jewish who had become a believer, but his father was a Greek.Footnote  ^a says “Timothy became Paul’s constant companion, cf. 17:14f; 18:5;  19:22; 20:4; 1 Th. 3:2,6; 1 Co. 4:17; 16:10; 2 co. 1:19; Rm. 16:21, and one of his most faithful disciple to the very end (see 1 Tm and 2 Tm which are addressed to him). “

Verse 2 says: We always mention you in our prayers and thank God for you all,

Parallel text is Ph 1:3 that says: I thank my God whenever I think of you; and…

Verse 3 says: and constantly remember before our God and Father how you have shown your faith in action, worked for love and persevered through hope, in our Lord Jesus Christ

Parallel texts  are:

1.       1 Th 5:8 - but we belong to the day and we should be sober, let us put on faith and love for a breastplate, and the hope of salvation for a helmet.

2.       1 Co 13:13 - In short,^e there are three things that last:^f faith, hope and love; and the greatest of these is love. Footnote ^e says “Or ‘Meanwhile.’”; and Footnote ^f says “Or ‘In short, then, we are left with these three things.’ This association of the three theological virtues, which is found earlier in 1 Th 1:3 and which was probably in use before Paul’s time, recurs frequently in his letters, though the order varies: 1 Th 5:8; 1 Co 13:7,13; Ga 5:5f; Rm 5:1-5; 12:6-12; Col 1:4-5; Ep 1:15-18; 4:2-5; 1 Tm 5:11; Tt 2:2;  Cf. Heb 6:10-12; 10:22-24; 1 P 1:3-9,21f. Faith and charity are associated  in 1 Th 3:6; 2 Th 1:3; Phm 5; faith and fortitude in 2 Th 1:4, love and fortitude in 2 Th 3:5, Cf. 2 Co 13:13.”

3.       Rv 2:2 - I know all about you: how hard you work and how much you put up with. I know you cannot stand wicked men, and how you tested the impostors who called themselves apostles^b and proved they are liars. Footnote  ^b says “Probably the Nicolaitans  of v. 6, see 2:15+. Cf. 2 Co 11:5,13.”

Verse 4 says: We know, brothers, that God loves you, and that you have been chosen…

Parallel text is 2 Th 2:13 that says: Encouragement to persevere.^j But we feel that we must be continually thanking God for you, brothers whom the Lord loves, because God chose you from the beginning^k to be saved by the sanctifying spirit and by faith in the truth. Footnote  ^j says “This passage, 2:13-3:5, is very closely linked to the description of the parousia. Having corrected the false ideas of the Thessalonians, Paul goes on to describe the positive consequences of his conception.”; and Footnote ^k says “Var. ‘as first-fruits’.”

Verse 5 says: because we brought the Good News^b to you, it came to you not only as words, but as power and as the Holy Spirit and as utter conviction. And you observed the sort of life we lived when we were with you, which was for your instruction. Footnote  ^b says “Var. ‘the Good News of God’, or ‘of our God’.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Ac 20:18 - When they arrived he addressed these words to them:^l ‘You know what my way of life has ever since the first day I set foot among you in Asia… Footnote ^l says “The third great discourse of Paul in Ac. The first, ch. 13, exemplified his preaching to the Jews; the second, ch. 17, his preaching to the pagans; the third, 20:18-35, is as it were the last testament of the departing pastor. Many of the details of this third discourse are found in his letters; its tone is that of the Pastoral Letters. After referring to his mission in Asia, vv.18-21, he speaks of this as a final parting and seems to him at his death, vv. 22-27. Apostle Paul’s last advice to the elders of Ephesus (and through them to all the pastors in very church) is vigilance, vv. 28-32, selflessness, charity, vv. 33-35. In all of this Paul appeals to his own example: the discourse therefore draws a faithful portrait of the apostle himself.”

2.       1 Co 2:4- And in my speeches and sermons that I gave, there were none of the arguments that belong to philosophy; only a demonstration of the power of the Spirit.

3.       2 Co 12:12 - You have seen done among you all the things that mark the true apostle, unfailingly produced: the signs, the marvels, the miracles.

4.       Ac 1:8- But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you,ⁱ  and then you will be my witnesses^j not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judea and Samaria, and indeed to the ends of the earth’.^k Footnote  ⁱ says “The Holy Spirit is a favorite theme of Luke (Lk 4:1+); he talks mostly about the Holy Spirit as a Power, Lk 1:35; 24:49;Ac 1:8;10:38; Rm 15:13,19; 1 Co 2:4,5; 1 Th 1:5; Heb 2:4, sent  from God by Christ, Ac 2:38, to broadcast the Good News. 1. The Spirit gives the charismata, 1 Co 12:4f, that guarantee the message; the gift of tongues, Ac 2:4+, of miracles, 10:38, of prophecy, 11:27+; 20:23; 21:11, of wisdom, 6:3,5,10:2, the Spirit fives strength to proclaim Jesus as Messiah in spite of persecution 4:8,31; 5:32; 6:10;cf. Ph 1;19 and to bear witness to him, Mt. 10;20p; Jn 15:26; Ac 1:8; 2 Tm 1:7f,cf. following note; 3. The Spirit guides the Church in her major decisions: the  admission of pagans, Ac 8:29,40; 10:19,44-47; 11;12-16; 15:8, without obligation to observe the  Law, 15:28; Paul’s mission to the pagan worlds, 13:2f; 16:6-7; 19:1 (Western Text) cf. Mt. 3:16+,Ac also mentions the Spirit  as received in baptism and forgiving sins, 2:38, cf. Rm 5:5+.”; Footnote ^j says “The primary functions of the apostles is to bear witness: not only to Christ’s resurrection, Lk. 24:48, Ac 2:32, 3:15, 4:33, 3:32, 24:48,13;31, 22:15, but also to the whole of is public life, Lk 1:21, Jn 15:27, Ac. 1:22, 10:39f.”; and Footnote ^k says “nothing can limit the apostolic mission.”

WEDDING GARMENT - 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)

Homily for the 28^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)

Based on Mt 22:1-14 (Gospel), Is 25:6-10 (First Reading) and Ph 4:12-14, 19-20 (Second Reading)

From the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”

WEDDING GARMENT

“When the king came in to look at the guests he noticed one man who was not wearing a wedding garment” (Mt 22:11)

The Gospel for this  28^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A) is taken from Mt 22:1-14 under the title: “Parable of the wedding feast^a” Footnote ^a says “A parable with allegorical features; in this, as in the lesson it teaches, it resembles the one that precedes it. The king is God: the wedding feast is the happiness of the messianic age and the king’s son the Messiah; those sent with the invitations are the prophets and the apostles; the invited who ignore them or do them violence are the Jews; those called in from the street are the pagans and sinners; the burning of the city is the destruction of Jerusalem. At v. 11 the scene changes to that of the Last Judgment. Matthew, it seems, has combined two parables: one akin to Lk 14:16-24 and another whose concluding verses are found in vv. 11f; these verses explain  that the man who accepted the invitation should have been dressed for the occasion= in other words, good works must go with faith, cf. 3:8; 5:20; 7:21f; 13:47f; 21:28f.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Mt 8:11 - And I tell you that many will come from east and west to take their places with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob at the feast^c in the kingdom of heaven. Footnote ^c  says “Basing their idea on Is 25:6, the Jews often described the joyous messianic era as a banquet (cf. 22:2-14; 26:19p; Lk 14:15; Rev 3:20; 19:9).”

2.       Pr 9:1-6 - Wisdom as hostess: Wisdom has built herself a house, she has erected^a her seven pillars, (v. 1)she has slaughtered her beasts, prepared her wine, she has laid her table (v. 2). She has dispatched her maidservants and proclaimed from the city’s heights (v. 3): ‘Who is ignorant? Let him step this way.’ To the fool she says (v. 4), ‘Come and eat my bread, drink the wine I have prepared! (v. 5). Leave your folly and you will live, walk in the ways of perception’ (v. 6). Footnote ^a says “‘erected’ Greek.”

3.       Lk 14:16-24 - But he said to him, “There was a man who gave a great banquet, and he invited a large number of people (v. 16). When the time for the banquet came, he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, “Come along: everything is ready now” (v. 17). But all alike started to make excuses. The first said, “I have bought a piece of land and must go and see it. Please accept my apologies (v. 18). Another said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen and am on my way to try them out. Please accept my apologies(v. 19).” Yet another said, “I have just got married and so am unable to come”(v. 20). ‘The servant returned and reported this to his master. Then the householder, in a rage, said to his servant, “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame” (v. 21).  “Sir,” said the servant ‘your orders have been carried out and there is still room (v. 22).” Then the master said to his servant, “Go to the open roads and the hedgegrows and force people to come in to make sure my house is full (v. 23); ‘because, I tell you, not one of those who were invited shall have a taste of my banquet” (v. 24).’

Verses 1 and 2 say: Jesus began to speak to them in parables once again, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave feast for his son’s wedding.

Parallel text of verse is that says:

1.       Ezk 16:1 - An allegorical history of Israel^a.The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows… Footnote ^a says “Israel, faithless wife of Yahweh, ‘whore’ of alien gods: a familiar image in prophetic literature from Ho onwards, cf. Ho 1:2+. Ezekiel develops it in a long allegory (resumed in another form in ch. 23) surveying the whole history of Israel (ch. 20, cf. 22), is a direct account of the same events). As in Ho, this allegory ends, vv. 60-63, with a free pardon from te husband who establishes a new covenant, thus prefiguring the marriage of God with his people in messianic days, a theme which is taken up in the NT.”

2.       Rv 19:9 - The angel said, “Write this: Happy are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb”, and he added, ‘All the things you have written are true messages from God’.

Verse3 3 up to 10 say: He sent his servants to call those who were invited, but they would not come. Next he sent some more servants. “Tell those who have been invited” he said “that I have my banquet all prepared, my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, everything is ready. Come to the wedding.” But they were not interested: one went off to the farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his servants, maltreated them and killed them. The king was furious. He dispatched his troops, destroyed those murderers and burnt their town. Then, he said to his servants, ‘The wedding ready, but as those who were invited proved to be unworthy, go to the crossroads in the town and invite everyone you can find to the wedding”. So these servants went out on to the roads and collected together everyone they could find, bad and good alike; and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

Parallel text of verse 3 is Mt 21:34 that says: When vintage time drew near he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his produce.

Parallel text of verse 3 is Mt 21:35 that says: But the tenants seized his servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a third.

Parallel texts of verse 10 are:

1.       Rv 19:7…let us be glad and joyful and give praise to God, because this is the time for the marriage of the Lamb.^a  Footnote ^a says “The wedding of the Lamb symbolizes the beginning of the heavenly kingdom described in 21:9f. See Ho 1:2+ and Ep 5:22-23+.

2.       Mt 13:38,47 - The field is the world; the good seed is the subjects of the kingdom; the darnel, the subjects of the evil one (v. 38);^I  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea that brings a haul of all kinds (v. 47). Footnote ⁱ says “Lit. ‘the children of the kingdom’ and ‘ the children of the evil one’, (semitisms).”

Verses 11 and 12 say: When the king came in to look at the guests he noticed one man who was not wearing a wedding garment, and he said to him, “How did you get in here, my friend, without a wedding garment?” And the man was silent.

Parallel text of verse 12 is Rv 19:8 that says: His bride is ready, and she has been able to dress herself in dazzling white linen,^b because her linen is made of the good deeds of the saints. Footnote   ^b  says “Symbol of victorious purity, a gift from God.” 

Verses 13 and 14 say: Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth”. For many are called, but few are chosen.’^b Footnote  ^b says “This sentence appears to refer to te first part of the parable rather than the second. It is question not of the elect as a whole but of the Jews, the first to be invited. The parable (of vv. 1-10) neither asserts nor denies that some (a ‘few’) of the Jewish people have accepted the invitation and are ‘chosen’, cf. 24:22+.”

Parallel text of verse 13 is  Mt 8:12 that says: but the subjects of the kingdom^d will be turned out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth (v. 12).’^e Footnote   ^d  says “Lit ‘the sons of the kingdom’, that is to say the Jews, natural heirs of the promises. Their place will be taken by the pagans, who prove more worthy.”; and Footnote ^e says “Scriptural image for the dismay and frustration of the wicked as seeing the virtuous rewarded, cf Ps 35:16; 37:12; 112:10; Jb 16:9. In Mt it is used as a description of damnation.”

The First Reading is taken from Is 25:6-10 with the title: “The messianic banquet^a”. Footnote  ^a says “The comforting aspect of the judgment presented in the imagery of a banquet, anticipating the gospel parable, Mt 22:2-10p.”

Verses 6 and 7 say: On this mountain,^c Yahweh Sabaoth will prepare for all peoples a banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wines, of food rich and juicy, of fine strained wines. On this mountain he will remove the mourning veil covering all people, and the shroud enwrapping all nations…Footnote  ^c says “Zion”.

Parallel text of verse 6 is Jn 6:51,54 that says: I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I shall give if my flesh,ⁿ for the life of the world(v. 51).^o He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in him (v. 54). Footnote   ⁿ says “Add ‘that I shall give’; the phrase is, in any case, to be understood.”; and Footnote ^o says “Jesus is the true bread because he is God’s Word, vv. 32f, and also because he is a victim whose body and blood are offered in sacrifice for the life of the world, vv. 51-58, cf. 6:22+. The word ‘flesh’ suggests a connection between the Eucharist and incarnation: the Word made flesh, 1:14, is the food of man.”

Verses 8, 9 and 10 say: he will destroy Death forever. The Lord Yahweh will wipe away the tears from every cheek; he will away his people  shame everywhere on earth; for Yahweh had said so. That day, it will be said: See, this is our God I whom we hoped for salvation; Yahweh is the one in whom we hoped. We exult and we rejoice that he has saved us; for the hand of Yahweh rests on this mountain. Moab^d is trodden down where he stand as straw is trodden in the dung pit… Footnote  ^d says “Vv. 10-12, on Moab, are apparently a later addition.”

Parallel texts of verse 8 are:

1.       Ps 116:8 - He has^d rescued (me from death) my eyes from tears and my feet from stumbling. Footnote ^d says “‘He has” versions; ‘you (sing.) have’ Hebr.”

2.       Ps 126:5 - Those who went sowing in tears now sing as they reap.

3.       1 Co 15:26 - And the last of the enemies to  be destroyed is death, for everything is to be put under his feet.

4.       Rv 7:17- Because the Lamb who is at the throne will be their shepherd and will lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away all tears from their eyes.^g Footnote ^g says “Common metaphors in the prophetic tradition, used to symbolize eschatological bliss, cf, Ho 2:20+; Is 11:6+; they recur in 21:4.”

5.       Rv 21:4 - He will wipe away all tears from their eyes; there will be no more death. And no more mourning or sadness. The world of the past has gone.’

6.       Is 35:10…for those Yahweh has ransomed shall return. They will come to Zion shouting for joy, everlasting joy on their faces; joy and gladness will go with them and sorrow and lament be ended.

Parallel text of verse 9 is Gn 49:18 that says: I trust in your salvation, Yahweh.^m Footnote   ^m says “An invocation in the manner of the Psalms; it marks approximately the middle of the poem.”

The Second Reading is taken from Ph 4:12-14, 19-20.

Verse 12 says: I know how to be poor and I know how to be rich too. I have been through my initiation and now I am ready for anything anywhere: full stomach or empty stomach, poverty or plenty.

Parallel text is Heb 13:5 that says: Put greed out of your lives and be content with whatever you have; God himself has said: I will not fail you or desert you…

Verse 13 says: There is nothing I cannot master with the help of the One^d who gives me strength. Footnote  ^d says “‘the One’, var. ‘Christ’.”

Parallel text of verse is that says:

1.       2 Co 12:9-10…but he has said, ‘My grace is enough for you: my power is at its best in weakness’. So I shall be very happy to make my weaknesses my special boast so that the power of Christ may stay over me (v. 9), and that is why I am quite content with my weaknesses, and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and the agonies I go through for Christ’s sake. For it is when I am weak that I am strong (v. 10).

2.       Ep 3:8 - I, who am less that the least of saints, have been entrusted with this special grace was given, not only of proclaiming to the pagans the infinite treasure of Christ…

3.       Col 1:29 - It is for this I struggle wearily on, helped only by his power driving me irresistibly

Verses 14 and 19 say: All the same, it was good of you to share with me in my hardships. In return my God will fulfill all your needs, in Christ Jesus, as lavishly as only God can.

Parallel text of verse is that says:

1.       Gn 8:21 - Yahweh smelt the appeasing fragrance and said to himself, ‘Never again will I curse the earth because of man, because his heart contrives evil in his infancy. Never again will I strike down every living thing as I have done.

2.       Ph 2:17 - And then, if my blood has to be shed as part of your own  sacrifice and offering – which is your faith^r,  I rejoice and share my joy with all of you. Footnote ^r says “Libations were common to both Greek and Jewish sacrifices: Paul merely applies this custom metaphorically to the spiritual worship of the new creation, cf. 3:3; 4:18; Rm 1:9+.”

3.       Keep doing good works and sharing your resources, for these are sacrifices that please God.

Verse 20 says: Glory to God, our Father, forever and ever. Amen.

Parallel text is Rm 16:27 that says: He alone is wisdom.^m Give glory therefore to him through Jesus Christ for ever and ever. Amen.ⁿ Footnote   ^m says “Cf 11:33-36; 1 Co 1:24; 2:7; Ep 3:10; Col 2:3; 10:7; 17:5,7.”; and Footnote  ⁿ says “Cf. Ga 1:5; Ep 3:21; Ph 4:20; 1 Tm 1:17; 6:16; 2 Tm 4:18; Heb 13:21; 1 P 4:11; 2 P 3:18; Jude 25; Rv 1:6.”

WICKED FARMERS OF THE VINEYARD - 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)

Homily for the 27^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)

Based on Mt 21:33-43(Gospel), Is 5:1-7(First Reading) and Ph 4:6-9(Second Reading)

From the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”

WICKED FARMERS  OF THE VINEYARD

“The kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit” (Mt 21:43)

The Gospel for this 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (CycleA) is taken from Mt 21:33-43 under the title: “Parable of the wicked husbandmen^g”. Footnote ^g says“More exactly an ‘allegory’ because every detail of the story has its own significance: the proprietor is God; the vineyard the Chosen People, Israel, cf. Is. 5:1+; the servants the prophets; the son Jesus Christ, put to death outside the walls of Jerusalem; the murderous farmers the faithless Jews; the nation to which the vineyard will be entrusted, the pagans.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Mk 12:1-12 - He went on to speak to them in parables, ‘A man planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug out a trough for the winepress and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad (v. 1).  When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce from the vineyard (v. 2). But they seized the man, thrashed him and sent him away empty-handed (v. 3). Next he sent another servant to them; him they beat about the head and treated shamefully (v. 4). And he sent another and they killed him; then a number of others, and they thrashed some and killed the rest (v. 5). He had still someone left: his beloved son. He sent him to them last of all. “They will respect my son” he said (v. 6).  But those tenants said to each other, “This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him and the inheritance will be ours (v. 7).” So they seized him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard (v. 8). Now what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and make an end of the tenants and give the vineyard to others (v. 9). Have you not read this text of scripture:  It was the stone rejected by the builders that became the keystone (v. 10). This was the Lord’s doing and it is wonderful to see? (v. 11). And they would have liked to arrest him, because they realized that the parable was aimed at them, but they were afraid of the crowds. So they left him alone and went away (v. 12).

2.       Lk 20:9-19 - And he went on to tell the people these parables: ‘A man planted a vineyard and leased it to tenants, and went abroad for long while (v. 9).  When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get his share of the produce of the vineyard from them.  But the tenants thrashed him, and sent him away empty-handed (v. 10). But he persevered and sent a second servant; they thrashed him too and treated him shamefully and sent him away empty-handed (v. 11). He still persevered and sent a third; they wounded this one also, and threw him out (v. 12).  The owner of the vineyard said, ‘What am I to do? I will send them my dear son. Perhaps they will respect him” (v. 13).   But when the tenants saw him they put their heads together. “This is the heir,” they said “let us kill him so that the inheritance will be ours (v. 14).” So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Now what will the owner of the vineyard do to them? (v. 15). He will come and make an end of these tenants and give the vineyard to others. Hearing this they said, ‘God forbid!’ (v. 16). But he looked hard at them and said, Then what does this text of scripture mean:  It was the stone rejected by the builders that became the keystone (v. 17). Anyone who falls on that stone will be dashed to pieces; anyone it falls on will be crushed (v. 18). But for their fear of the people, the scribes and the chief priests would have liked to lay hands on him that very moment, because they realized that this parable was aimed at them (v. 19).

3.       Jn 8:37 - I know that you are descended from Abraham; but in spite of that you want to kill me because nothing I say has penetrated into you.

Verse 33 says: ‘Listen to another parable. There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug a winepress in it and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad.

Parallel text is Is 5:1-7 that says: Let me sing to my friend the song of his love^b for his vineyard. My friend had a vineyard on a fertile hillside (v. 1).He dug the soil, cleared it of stones, and planted choice vines^c in it. In the middle he built a tower, he dug a press there too. He expected it to yield grapes, but sour grapes were all that it gave (v. 2). And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, I ask you to judge between my vineyard and me (v. 3).What could I have done for my vineyard that I have not done? I expected it to yield grapes. Why did it yield sour grapes instead (v. 4)? Very well, I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge for it to be grazed on, and knock down its wall for it to be trampled on (v. 5). I will lay it waste, unpruned, undug; overgrown by the briar and the thorn. I will command the clouds to rain no rain on it (v. 6). Yes, the vineyard of Yahweh Sabaoth is the House of Israel, and the men of Judah that chosen plant. He expected justice, but found bloodshed, integrity, but only a cry of distress (v. 7).Footnote ^bsays“‘of his love’ corr.: ‘of my friend’ Hebr.”; and Footnote ^c  says“In Hebr. ‘of soreq’, probably a vine of fine quality red grapes.

Verse 34 says: When vintage time drew near he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his produce.

Parallel text is Mt 22:3 that says:He sent his servants to call those who were invited, but they would not come.

Verses 35-37 say: But the tenants seized his servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a third. Next he sent some more servants, this time a larger number, and they dealt with them the same way.Finally he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son’ he said.

Parallel text of verse 35 Mt 22:6 is that says:and the rest seized his servants, maltreated them and killed them.

Verse 38 says: But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, “This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him and take over his inheritance.”

Parallel text of verse is that says:

1.       Jn 3:16-17 - Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not be lost but may have eternal life (v. 16).   For God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved (v. 17).

2.       1 Jn 4:9 - God’s love for us was revealed when God sent into the world his only Son so that we could have life through him…

3.       Ga 3:16 - Now the promises were addressed to Abraham and to his descendants - notice, in passing, that the scripture does not use a plural word as if there were several descendants, it uses the singular: to his posterity,^g which is Christ. Footnote ^g says“Lit. ‘it does not say “And to posterities” as if there were several people, but “And to your posterity” as if there were one.’ The use in scripture of the collective capable of indicating an individual enables Paul to illustrate his argument with a verbal pun.”

4.       Ga 4:7… and it is this that makes you a son, you are not a slave anymore;   and if God has made you a son then he has made you an heir…

5.       Heb 1:2…in our time, the last days, he has spoken to us through his Son, the Son that he has appointed to inherit everyhting^a and through whom he made everything that there is.^b Footnote ^a says “To be a son implies having the right to inherit cf. Mt 21:38, Ga 4:7. Here, however, God is credited with the handing over of the whole creation because the inheritance in question is messianic and eschatological.”; and Footnote ^bsays“Lit. the ‘aeons’, Hebraism for the whole creation.”

Verses 38, 40 and 41 say: So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to these tenants?’They answered, ‘He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will deliver the produce to him when the season arrives’.

Parallel text is Heb 13:12 that says: …and so Jesus too suffered outside the gate to sanctify the people with his own blood.^d Footnote ^d says “On the day of Atonement the high priest went into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled it with the blood of animals that had been killed, and the bodies of these animals were burnt outside the camp. This prefigured how Jesus Christ as expiatory victim was to be killed outside the walls of Jerusalem. The lesson drawn from this is that Christians should break with Judaism and think of themselves as exiles from the world.”

Verse 42 says: Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read the scriptures: It was the stone rejected by the builders that became the keystone. This was the Lord’s doing and it is wonderful to see?

Parallel text of verse is that says:

1.       Ps 118:22-23 - It was the stone rejected by the builders proved to be the keystone (v.22); this is Yahweh’s doing and it is wonderful to see.^h Footnote ^h says “The Temple is rebuilt, cf. Hg 1:9; Zc 1:16. The ‘keystone’ (or ‘crowning stone’), cf. Jr 51:26, that may become ‘a stone of stumbling’, is a messianic theme, Is 8:14; 28:16; Zc 3:9; 4:7, applied to Jesus Christ, Mt 21:42p; Ac 4:11; Rm 9:33; 1 P 2:4f, cf. Ep 2:20; 1 Co 3:11.”

2.       Dn 2:45…just as you saw the stone untouched by the hand break from the mountain and shatter iron, bronze, earthenware, silver and gold. The great God has shown the king what is to take place. The dream is true, the interpretation exact.’

3.       Ac 2:33 - Now raised to the heights by God’s right hand,^s he has received from the father the Holy Spirit, who was promised,^t and what you see and hear is the outpouring of that Spirit. Footnote ^s says “Words borrowed from Ps. 118 (v.16 LXX ‘The right hand of the Lord has raised me up’) used in their preaching by the apostles who took it to be messianic: Ac 4:11, 1 P 2:7, Mt 21:9p,42p, 23:39, Lk 13:35, Jn 12:13, Heb 13:6. But it is possible to translate. ‘ Having raised up to the right hand of God’ and to see in this an introduction to the quotation (v.34) of Ps. 110); which is another name of Apostolic preaching: Mt. 22:44p,26:64p, Mk 16:19, Ac 7:55,56, Rm 8:34, 1Co. 15:25, Ep. 1:20 Col. 3:1, Heb. 1:3,13, 8:1, 10:12, 12:2, 1 P.3:22.”; and Footnote ^tsays“According to the prophets, the gif of the Spirit would characterize  the messianic era, Ex. 36:27+. Peter explains the miracle his bearers have witnessed as the ‘pouring out’ of this spirit, foretold in Jl 3:1-2 by the risen Christ.”

4.       Ac 4:11 - This is the stone rejected by you the builders, but which has proved to be the keystone.

5.       Is 28:16 - That is why the Lord Yahweh says this: See how I lay in Zion a stone of witness, a precious cornerstone,  a foundation stone: The believer shall not stumble.

6.       1 P 2:4-8 - He is the living stone, rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him; set yourselves close to him (v. 4) so that you too, the holy priesthood that offers the spiritual sacrifices which Jesus Christ had made acceptable to God, may be living stones making a spiritual house (v. 5). As scripture says: See how I lay in Zion a precious cornerstone that I have chosen and the man who rests his trust on it will not be disappointed (v. 6).That means that for you who are believers, it is precious; but for unbelievers, the stone rejected by the builders has proved to be the keystone (v. 7), a stone to stumble over, a rock to bring men down. They stumble over it because they do not believe in the word; it was the fate in store for them^a (v. 8).Footnote ^asays“Lit. ‘to this indeed they were appointed’. By rejecting the Good News the K\Jews have lost their prerogatives which have been transferred to Christians, 3:9. The OT quotations in vv. 6-10 reflect the need of the earliest Christians to find scriptural explanations for the unbelief of Israel.”

Verse 43 says:I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.’^h Footnote ^h says “Add. V. 44 ‘He who falls on this stone will be dashed to pieces: anyone it falls on will be crushed’, probably a gloss taken from Lk 20:18.”

Parallel text of verse is that says:

1.       Ac 13:5 - They landed in Salamis and proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews^e. John acted as their assistant. Footnote ^e says“Paul’s regular policy, 17:2, is to approach the Jews first, cf. 13:14; 14:1; 16:13; 7:10,17;  18:4,19; 19:8; 28:17,23, on the principle that the Jews have first claim, see 3:26; 13:46; Rm 1:16; 2:9-10; Mt 7:27, only after refusal does Paul turn to the pagans, cf. Ac 13:46; 18:6; 28:28.

2.       Rm 11:11 -Let me put another question then: have the Jews forever, or have they just stumbled?^c Obviously they have not fallen forever: their fall, though, has saved the pagans^d in a way the Jews may now well emulate. Footnote ^c says“Lit ‘have they stumbled so as to fall (without hope of rising)?’”; and Footnote ^d says “The present unbelief of the Jews is only a false step which God has permitted with a view to the conversion of the pagans, 9:22; 11:12,19,25,30, and ultimately the Jews themselves; for their own good God will make them ‘jealous’, 10:19, of the pagans.”

The First Reading is taken from   Is 5:1-7 under the title: “The song of the vineyard^a”.

Verse 1 says: Let me sing to my friend the song of his love^b for his vineyard. My friend had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. Footnote  ^bsays “‘of his love’ corr.: ‘of my friend’ Hebr.”

Parallel textsare:

1.       Is 3:14 - Yahweh calls to judgment the elders and the princes of his people: ‘You are the ones who destroy the vineyard and conceal what you have stolen from the poor.

2.       Is 27:2-5 - The vineyard of Yahweh.^b That day, sing to the delightful^c vineyard (v. 2)! I, Yahweh, am its keeper; every moment I water it for fear its leaves should fall;^d night and day I watch over it (v. 3). I am angry no longer. If thorns and briars come I will declare war on them, I will burn them every one (v. 4). Or if they would shelter under my protection, let them make their peace with me, let them make their peace with me (v. 5).Footnote ^b says “Israel. This poem is a pendant to Is. 5:1-7”; Footnote ^c says “‘delightful’ corr.; ‘of wine’ Hebr.”; and Footnote ^d says “‘for fear its leaves should fall’ corr.; ‘lest anyone harm it’ Hebr.”

3.       Ps 80:8-18 - There was a vine:^e you uprooted it from Egypt; to plant it, you drove out other nations (v. 8), you cleared a space where it could grow, it took root and filled the whole country (v. 9). It covered the mountains with its shade, the cedars of God^f with its branches (v. 10), its tendrils extended to the sea, its offshoot all the way to the river (v. 11)^g Why have you destroyed its fences? Now anyone can go and steal its grapes (v. 12), the forest boar can ravage it and wild animals eat it (v. 13). Please, Yahweh Sabaoth, relent! Look down from heaven, look at this vine, visit it (v. 14), protect what your own right hand has planted^h (v. 15). They threw it on the fire like dung^,i but one look of reproof from you and they will be doomed (v. 16). May your hand protect the man at your right, the son of man who has been authorized by you^j (v. 17). We shall never turn from you again; our life renewed, we shall invoke your name (v. 18).Footnote^esays“Allegory frequent in the prophets, cf. Is 5:1+.”; Footnote ^fsays“Or ‘the branches were cedars o God’ (i.e. the highest of cedars, cf. 36:6; 68:15).”; Footnote ^gsays“The Euphrates.”; Footnote ^hsays“Hebr. adds ‘and on the son you authorized’ (lit. ‘strengthened’) anticipated of 17b.”;Footnote ⁱsays“Line corr.”; Footnote ^jsays“Probably allusion to Zerubbabel, Hg 1:1; Ezr 3:2, rather than to Benjamin (‘son of the right hand’), Amaziah (‘Yahweh is trusty’) cf. 25:5, or Israel (cf. Ex 4:22).”

4.       Jr 2:21 - Yet I had planted you, a choice vine,  a shoot of soundest stock. How is it you become a degenerate plant,^o you bastard Vine? Footnote^o says “‘a degenerate plant’ conj.”

5.       Jr 5:10 - Scale her terraces! Destroy! Make^g an end of her! Strip off her branches, Yahweh does not own them.Footnote^g says“‘Make’ corr.; ‘Do not make’ Hebr., cf. 4:27+. The Greek continues ‘spare her branches, for Yahweh owns them’.”

6.       Jr 6:9 -“Yahweh Sabaoth says this: Glean, glean,^f as a vine is gleaned, what is left^g of Israel; like a grape-picker pass your hand again over the branches!”’Footnote^f says “Following Greek. Yahweh instructs Jeremiah to collect a few who will listen to him. Vv. 10-11 express the prophet’s discouragement; Yahweh’s answer follows.” and Footnote ^g says “Here, as in 8:3, the expression is still not technical. It becomes so in 23:3; 31:7 (there translated ‘remnant’), indicating the faithful Israel, heir to the blessings to come, cf. Is 4:3+.”

7.       Jr 8:13 -“I would like to go harvesting there, ^g says Yahweh. But there are no grapes on the vine, no figs on the fig tree: even the leaves are withered. This is because I have brought them ravagers to ravage them.”^h Footnote^g says “Following Greek, Hebr. “I shall consume them completely’.”; and Footnote ^hsays“This line (corr.) and the preceding are absent from Greek.”

8.       Jr 12:10 - Many shepherds have laid my vineyard waste, have trampled down my inheritance, reducing my pleasant inheritance to a deserted wilderness.

9.       Ezk 15:1-8 - Parable of the vine. The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows (v. 1): ‘Son of man’ how is the wood of the vine better than wood from the branch of a forest tree? Do people use its wood to carve it into something? Do they make a peg out of it, and hang things on it? There it is, thrown on the fire for fuel. The fire burns off both ends; the middle is charred; is it fit for carving now?^a While it was intact, it was impossible to carve; burned and charred, will it be now fit for carving? Therefore, the Lord Yahweh says this: As the wood of the vine among the forest trees, which I have thrown on the fire for fuel, so have I treated the citizens of the Jerusalem. I have turned my face against them. They have escaped the fire, but the fire will devour them yet. And you will learn that I am Yahweh, when I turn my face against them. I mean to reduce the country to desert, to punish their faithlessness to me –it is the Lord Yahweh who speaks.’ Footnote^a says “If the comparison is to be urged, Israel has been deprived of the territory of Samaria in 720 and of Judah in 597. Jerusalem itself (the ‘middle’) is no longer ‘intact’ since it has already suffered siege and deportation.”

10.   Ezk 17:3-10 - Say, “The Lord Yahweh says this: A large eagle,^a with huge wings and a wide span,  covered with speckled feathers, came to Lebanon. He took hold of the top of the cedar, plucked of the top branch, carried it off the top branch, carried it off to the land of merchants, and set it down in the city of shopkeepers. Then he carried off a seeding vine, and planted it in fertile soil; by the side of a wide stream, as a border he set it.^b The seedling grew, and turned into a vine, not tall but well spread out; its branches grew up towards the eagle, its roots grew down. It turned into a vine; it sent out streams put out sprays. There was another large eagle,^c with a huge wings and thickly feathered. And now the vine twisted its roots toward him, stretched its branches toward him away from the bed where it was planted for him to water them. It was in a fertile field, by the side of a wide stream, that the vine had been planted, to grow shoots, bear fruit and become a noble vine.” Say, “The Lord Yahweh says this: Will this vine thrive?^d Will not the eagle break it roots, and snap up the fruit, so that all the new leaves will wither they shoot? It will take no effort and no strong nation to pull it up by the roots. It is planted there; will it thrive? Will not shrivel when the east wind blows? It will wither on the soil where it was growing.” ’  Footnote ^a says “Nebuchadnessar who in 597, having deported Jehoiachim, put Zedekiah on the throne, cf. vv. 12f.”; Footnote ^b says “‘cedar’ corr.’ ‘of the land’ Hebr. Before ‘by the side of’ Hebr. inserts ‘take’, absent from Greek.”; Footnote ^c says “‘another large eagle’ corr. Following versions’ ‘one large eagle’ Hebr. This eagle is Egypt, on whose help Zedekiah was always disposed to rely for support against Babylon, cf. v. 15.”; and Footnote ^d says “‘Will (this vine) thrive?’ some MSS; ‘(It) will thrive’ Text. Rec.”

11.   Ezk 19:10-14 -“Your mother was like a vine^g planted beside the water, fruitful and leafy, because the water flowed so full. It will put out strong branches that turned to royal scepters; they reached up, reached so high they touched the clouds;^h men admired them for their height and their thick foliage. But it was rooted up and thrown on the ground; the east wind dried up its fruit; it was broken up; its strong branch withered away;^I fire consumed it all. Now it has been transplanted into the desert, the waterless country of drought; fire was come out of its stem, consumed its branches and fruit. No more strong branch for her, no more kingly scepter.”Footnote^g says “‘like’ Targ. A second allegory: the vine is the nation, once prosperous and now shortly to be destroyed”; Footnote ^h says “‘clouds’ corr.; ‘ropes’ Hebr.”; and Footnote ⁱ says “‘was broken up’ and ‘withered away’; Greek.”

12.   Ho 10:1 -Israel was a luxuriant vine  yielding plenty of fruit.^a The more his fruit increased, the more altars he built; the richer his land became, the richer he made the sacred stones.Footnote^a says “‘yielding plenty of’ corr.; ‘setting for him’ Hebr.”

13.   Jl 1:7 - It has laid waste my vines and torn my fig trees to pieces; it has stripped them clean and cut them down,^c their branches have turned white.Footnote^c says “Text corr.”

14.   Na 2:3 - Yes, Yahweh is restoring the vineyard^b of Jacob and the vineyard of Israel. Fur the plundered has plundered them, they had broken off their branches.Footnote^b says “‘vineyard’ corr.: ‘magnificence’ Hebr.”

Verse 2 says: He dug the soil, cleared it of stones, and planted choice vines^c in it. In the middle he built a tower, he dug a press there too. He expected it to yield grapes, but sour grapes were all that it gave.Footnote  ^csays“In Hebr. ‘of soreq’, probably a vine of fine quality red grapes.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Mt 21:18-19+;33-34 - As he was returning to the city in the early morning, he felt hungry (v. 18). Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it, and found nothing on it but leaves. And he said to it, “May no never fruit again’; and at that instant the fig tree withered^d (v. 19). ‘Listen to another parable. There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug a winepress in it and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad (v. 33).When vintage time drew near he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his produce (v. 34).Footnote^dsays“‘It was not the season for figs’, Mk says. Jesus wished to perform a symbolic action, cf. Jr 8:13+, in which the fig tree represents Israel punished for its fruitlessness.”

2.       Mk 12:1 - He went on to speak to them in parables, ‘A man planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug out a trough for the winepress and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad.

3.       Jn 15:1-2 - I am the vine^a and my Father is the vinedresser.Footnote ^asays“On the vine image, cf. Jr 2:21; Is. 5:1+. In the synoptic, Jesus uses the vine as a symbol of the kingdom of God, Mt 20:1-8; 21:28-31, 33-41 and p, and ‘the fruit of the vine’ becomes the Eucharistic sacrament of the New Covenant, Mt 26:29p. Here he calls himself the true vine whose fruit, the true Israel, will not disappoint God’s expectation.”

Verse3 says: And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, I ask you to judge between my vineyard and me.

Parallel text is Mi 6:1-5 that says: Yahweh puts his people ion trial^a. Now listen to what Yahweh is saying: Stand up and let the case begin in the hearing of the mountains and let the hills hear what you say (v. 1).^b Listen, you mountains, to Yahweh’s accusation, give ear,^c you foundations of the earth, for Yahweh is accusing his people, pleading against Israel (v. 2): My people, what have i done to you, how have I been a burden to you? Answer me (v. 3)^d. I brought you out of the land of Egypt, I rescued you from the house of slavery; I sent Moses to lead you, with Aaron and Miriam (v. 4). My people, remember: what did Balak plot, the king of Moab? What did Balaam answer, that son of Beor?...from Shittim to Gilgal, for you know the rightness of the ways of Yahweh (v. 5).^eFootnote ^asays“After Yahweh’s accusation in which he recalls his goodness to Israel, vv. 3-5, his repentant worshipper enquires what his God demands of him, vv.6-7. The prophet replies, v. 8.”;Footnote^bsays“The mountains are God’s favorite place of meeting with his people (Sinai, Nebo, Ebal and Gerizim, Zion, Carmel, etc.). They are changeless witnesses, often personified, Gn 49:26; 2 S 1:21; Ezk 35-36; Ps 68:15-16, etc.”;Footnote^csays“‘give ear’ corr.: ‘and the deeps (?)’ Hebr.“; Footnote^dsays “‘have I been a burden to you’ (heleethika) and ‘I brought you up’ (heelithika) are similar in sound. Yahweh is about to remind the people, who claim that he has abandoned them, of his past kindness. The text is used in the Improperia of the Good Friday liturgy.”;  Footnote^esays“There is a lacuna in the Hebr. text. The reference is to the crossing of the Jordan. ‘you to know’ versions; ‘knowledge of’ Hebr. The ‘rightness of the ways’ (lit. ‘uprightness’) of Yahweh are the climacteric events of sacred history by which Yahweh showed his loyalty to the people he had chosen. Since the covenant itself was the issue of a divine initiative, this ‘uprightness’ (‘righteousness’, ‘justice’) is freely given.”

Verse 4 says: What could I have done for my vineyard that I have not done? I expected it to yield grapes. Why did it yield sour grapes instead?

Parallel text is Jr 2:4-7 that says:Listen to the word of Yahweh, House of Jacob, and all you families of the House of Israel (v. 4). Thus says Yahweh, ‘What shortcoming did your fathers find in me that led them to desert me? Vanity they pursued, vanity they became (v. 5)^c They never said, ‘Where is Yahweh, who brought us out of the land of Egypt and led us through the wilderness, through a land arid and scored, a land of drought and darkness,^d a land where no one passes, and no man lives (v. 6)” I brought you to a fertile country to enjoy its produce and good things; but no sooner had you entered than you defiled my land, and made my heritage detestable (v. 7).Footnote ^c says“‘Vanity’ is used as false gods. ‘Those shall be like them who make them’, Ps 115:8.Footnote^dsays“‘darkness’ corr.; ‘the shadow of death’ Hebr.”

says

Verse 5 says: Very well, I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge for it to be grazed on, and knock down its wall for it to be trampled on.

Parallel text is Ho 2:14that says:I will lay her vines and fig trees waste, those of which she used to say, ‘These are the pay my lovers gave me’; I am going to make them into thickets for the wild beasts to ravage.

Verses 6 and 7 say: I will lay it waste, unpruned, undug; overgrown by the briar and the thorn. I will command the clouds to rain no rain on it.Yes, the vineyard of Yahweh Sabaoth is the House of Israel, and the men of Judah that chosen plant. He expected justice, but found bloodshed, integrity, but only a cry of distress.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Is 32:13…for the soil of my people where thorns and briars grow, for all the happy houses, for the gay city.

2.       2 S 1:21mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain on you; treacherous fields, for there the hero’s shield was dishonoured! The shield of Saul was anointed not with oil…

The Second Reading is taken from Ph 4:6-9.

Verse 6 says: There is no need to worry; but if there is anything you need, pray for it, asking God for it with prayer and thanksgiving,

Parallel text of verse is Mt 6:25-34 that says: Trust in Providence: ‘That is why I am telling you not to worry about your life and what you are to eat, nor about your body and how you are to clothe it. Surely. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothing! (v. 25). Look at the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they are? (v. 26). Can any of you, for all his worrying, add one single cubit to his span of life? (v. 27). And why worry about clothing? Think of the flowers growing in the fields; they never have to work or spin (v. 28); yet I assure you that not even Solomon in all his regalia was robed like one of these (v. 29).  Now if that is how God clothes the grass in the field which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, will he not much more look after you, you men of little faith? (v. 30). So do not worry; do not say, ‘What are we to eat? How are we to be clothes?’ (v. 31). It is the pagans who set their hearts into these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all (v. 32). Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on his righteousness, and all these other things will be given you as well (v. 33). So do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own (v. 34).

Footnote  says

Verses 7 and 8 say: And that peace of God, which is so much greater than we can understand, will guard your hearts and your thoughts,^b in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, fill your minds with everything that is true, everything that is noble, everything that is good and pure, everything that we love and honor,^c and everything that can be thought virtuous or worthy of praise.Footnote  ^b says“Var. ‘your bodies’.”; and Footnote^csays“Add. ‘everything there is of knowledge’, or ‘of discipline’ (Vulg.).”

Parallel texts of verse 7 are:

1.       Jn 14:27- Peace^s I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.Footnote^s says“The customary Jewish greeting and farewell, cf. Lk. 10:5p; it means soundness of body but came to be used of the  perfect happiness and the deliverance which the Messiah would bring. All this Jesus gives.”

2.       Col 3:15 - And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it is for this that you were called together as parts of one body. Always be thankful

Verse 9 says: Keep doing all the things that you learnt from me and have been taught by me and have heard or seen that I do. Then the God of peace will be with you.

Parallel text of verse is that says:

1.       1 Th 2:13 - Another reason why we constantly  thank God for you is that as soon as you heard the message you accepted it for what it really is, God’s message^d and not some human thinking; and it is still^e a living power among you who believe it.Footnote^dsays “A brief summary of the apostolic tradition: message is first ‘received’, 4:1; 2 Th 3:6; 1 Co 15:1; Ga 1:9; Ph 4:9; Col. 2:6; or ‘heard’, Rm 10:17+; Ep 1:13; Ac 15:7, etc. It then penetrates the mind or heart, Rm 10:8-10, where, if it is welcomed,, 1:6; 2 Th 2:10; 2 Co 11:4; Ac 8:16, etc. Mk 4:20, it proves that the hearer acknowledges that God has been speaking through his missionary, 4:1f; 2 Co 3:5; 15:3.”; and  Footnote  ^e says“Or ‘has become’; God acts through his message that has been welcomed by the believer, cf. 1:8, 2 Th 3:1.”

2.       2 Th 3:7 - You know how you are supposed to imitate us;^b now we were not idle when we were with you.Footnote^b says“By imitating Paul , 1 Co 4:16; Ga 4:12; Ph 3:17, Christians will be imitating Christ, 1 Th 1:6; Ph 2:5; cf Mt 16:24; 1 P 2:21; 1 Jn 2:6; who is the one that Paul is imitating, 1 Co 11:1. Christians must also imitate God, Ep 5:1 (cf. Mt 5:48), and they must imitate each other, 1 Th 1:7; 2:14; Heb 6:12. Behind this community of life is the idea of a model of doctrine, Rm 6:17, that has been received by tradition, v. 6: 1 Co 11:2+; 1 Th 2:13++. The leaders who transmit the doctrine must themselves  be ‘models’ v. 9; Ph 3:17; 1 Tm 1:16; 4:12; Tt 2:7;  1 P 5:3; whose faith and life are to be imitated, Heb 13:7.”